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Today is May Day. Millions of working people fought for their demands and rights. The day is well-known for its significance. But how did the day come into being? And why is it celebrated as the day of liberation for working people? Let’s find out.

How It All Started

May Day poster
8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest and 8 hours for what we will

There are stories of exploitation and oppression of the strong over the weak throughout history. The exploiting classes behave ruthlessly for their own interests. This was the story of the early nineteenth century. At that time, workers used to work an average of 12 hours a day and received only nominal wages while bosses used to snatch all the profits. On the contrary, the workers’ living conditions were inhumane. Along with unjust abuse, workers would suffer from constant unspeakable torture. 

In 1860, workers became vocal about their rights and demanded eight-hour working days without a reduction in wages. An organization named the American Federation of Labor was later formed. This organization continued its movement relentlessly in order to assert the due wages and rights of the workers and their slogan was- 

Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will.

Events before a Tragedy 

Looking at history, neither any demand nor any claim in this world was achieved in a day, and just like that 24 years had passed without any result. But in 1884, a group of workers in Chicago again started a movement with those same demands. They set the deadline till May 1st, 1884 for the implementation of their demands and took the movement to new heights. Even after such a demonstration, the bosses remained silent. Over time, as resentment started to grow among the workers, the revolt became extreme. As a result, Chicago turned into the main stage for protesting.

As 1st May approached, the clash between the two parties seemed inevitable. Every demand that was made in favor of the workers was rejected by the owners of the factories and the bosses of the offices. The police, as always, took side with the authority and brutally started charging the protestors. That day on May 1st, about 300,000 U.S. workers came onto the street. The movement was about to reach its climax. 

Haymarket Tragedy

Inspired by the labor march in Canada in 1872, workers in Chicago called for a gathering on May 4th, 1886. On the evening of that day, despite having hundreds of setbacks, workers gathered for a procession in the commercial zone called Haymarket square.

At one point in the movement when a leader named August Spies was giving his speech to the assembled workers, a bomb was thrown into the crowd, killing a sergeant. That in turn, resulted in a battle and seven policemen were announced dead later in that incident. Then the police started causing havoc upon the assembled workes by launching random attacks. This quickly turned into a riot and in total 11 workers were martyred.

False Accusation and Maximum Penalty

As a punishment, the police accused the workers of murder and ridiculously filed a case against eight workers including August Spies. Among them, Oscar Nibe was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment and a man named ‘Lewis Ling’ committed suicide while in prison. The other six were hanged in public on 11th November 1887. Before he was hanged to death August Spies said-

The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today

The most painful thing of all is that these lies were finally caught and on 26th June 1893, John Peter Altgeld, the governor of Illinois finally stated that the trial was felonious and based upon a complete lie. Later the corrupted commander of the police was accused and charged for the heinous act. Eventually, the demand for an “8-hour day” was officially recognized and since then, the 1st of May has been celebrated as a day of sacrifice and the reimbursement of workers’ demand.

Remembrance

Haymarket martyrs monument
A monument was built to commemorate the martyrs

Among the six workers who were martyred by hanging to death, five of them were buried in the German Waldheim Cemetery in Forest Park, Chicago (now the Forest Home Cemetery). A monument designed by sculptor Albert Weinert was built to commemorate the false trial. Exactly 100 years later, the US Ministry of Home Affairs declared the monument as a national historic landmark. 

The last quote from August Spies can be seen at the footer of the 16-foot tall granite monument. And the rear part of the structure features a plaque by the governor John Peter Altgeld which symbolizes his justice.

The Worldwide Celebration of May Day

The International Labor Conference was held on 14th February 1889 in France. 1st May was declared as Labor day and May Day was formally recognized as an annual event. There are more than 8o countries including Bangladesh where May Day is celebrated as a public holiday and in some countries, the day is celebrated privately. 

One interesting fact is, for reasons unbeknownst to many, May Day is not celebrated in May in the US where the main incident occurred. Instead, the day is celebrated on the first Monday of every September each year. The same goes for Canada as well. 

Another Celebration of May Day

Almost everyone knows that May Day is the celebration of the realization of workers’ rights. But there is another less popular celebration on the same day. 1st May is celebrated as the festival of seasonal change in the northern hemisphere. Several European countries take a lot of initiatives to celebrate the day as the start of warmer weather. Although it is relatively not so common worldwide, its history goes back to many years.

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